Teen-approved ways to spend the day

Between summer sports schedules, part-time jobs and busy social lives, it can be tricky to convince the teens in your life to take time for summer travel. Enter the Great Canadian Day Trip. Day trips are a fantastic option for this sometimes hard-to-please demographic for a number of reasons, including the fact that they can be done in as little as four hours and it’s affordable to bring a friend along to make it more fun for them. Here are some day trip ideas that we think the teens in your life will love this summer.

Try a new sport

Learn the ins and outs of mountain biking at Kelso Conservation Area’s Mountain Bike Skills Zone, which features wooden bridges, rollers, rocks, and logs to help riders learn how to properly tackle technical features in a controlled environment.

The Grand River’s gentle currents make it a great choice for first-time paddlers. Area outfitters such as Grand Experiences, Grand River Rafting and Heritage River Canoe and Kayak Co. make it so easy to gear up and go.

See what all the buzz is about and take a stand-up paddleboard lesson on the shores of Lake Ontario in Burlington or give wakeboarding a try at Binbrook Conservation Area. Boarder Pass Canada operates a two-tower cable wake boarding system that provides the ultimate wakeboarding experience and is appropriate for people who have never tried the sport.

Defy the law of gravity with a thrilling free-fall experience at Oakville’s iFLY Toronto. You’ll get a real sense of what skydivers experience during the free-fall portion of their jump at this indoor facility.

Score designer deals

Brand-conscious teens will be thrilled with the collection of stores that awaits at Halton’s Toronto Premium Outlets, including Coach, Kate Spade, J. Crew, Bench and dozens more. If your teen prefers to hunt for vintage finds, head to Hamilton’s Ottawa Street or the vintage shops of Paris.

Inspire their artsy side

Plan a trip to the Art Gallery of Hamilton. It’s Canada’s third-largest public art gallery and is home to over 9,500 works of art. Just down the street you’ll find the Art Gallery of Hamilton Design Annex. Time your visit with one of the hands-on classes offered here, shop for unique art pieces in the Art+Design store, and take in one of the gallery’s experimental exhibitions. A great way for out-of-towners to tour through some of the city’s independent art spaces, including galleries, shops and studios, is to attend the monthly James Street North Art Crawl. It’s held on the second Friday night of every month.

Fuel up on food truck fare

Enjoy music together

Hamilton Halton Brant’s festivals are a fun way to enjoy music together. September’s SuperCrawl tends toward artists that are a little edgier. Past performers have included Monster Truck, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Daniel Lanois, The Sadies and Hayden.